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Make sure to take part in the dynamic event chains (as opposed to the hearts) all the way to the end. Often they unlock vendors that exist for a short time with good cheap (money not karma) gear. If it's an event chain with an NPC in it follow them after the event completes successfully they sometimes become a vendor, even if you have to go halfway across the map behind them before it happens.

Also the big chains (I forget the name, the ones with the special indicator on your screen) sometimes drop resplendent chests which tend to have 2 blues of your level as a minimum. Some of these can be repeated pretty much every time the sequence cycles.

Jump puzzles (generally one or more per zone) also end with chests (usually, damn you griffinrook run) that have gear in them as do the zone completion rewards on occasion.

Indeed, Shoop. It takes a longer time, and I also see it somewhat a waste of time. You have to level up as the crafting levels are known to be grouped into ranks, and there are requirements that you need to meet before you will be able to craft a certain component item.

Once I understood how crafting worked, I hit a stride where I can level crafting faster than my guildies can level, so I'm succeeding by giving them gear at certain milestones.

Interesting tidbit: There's actually a fairly good market for low level yellow (rare) gear, not to mention bags, and between the discoveries (six discoveries per "upgrade" - ie: adding a stat or stats to armor - thanks to each piece of armor counting as its own discovery, with six kinds of upgrades for various types of armor stats and three tiers of upgrades - fine, masterwork, rare - per tier of materials means over a hundred discoveries per tier, which is five times what you need to get to the next tier) and the churn to run through your backlog of materials (basic materials are dirt cheap if you haven't already stockpiled them) leveling is extremely quick.

NalanoH. Wildmoon
Director of the Friends of Nalano PAC
Attorney at Lawl
"His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy." - Woody Allen

So again, it's a system that the game doesn't tell you much of anything about?

While I appreciate the lack of step-by-step hand holding, there are some things that need to be covered somewhere or new players are going to be totally lost. Especially me who hasn't ever played a retail MMO RPG before.

So again, it's a system that the game doesn't tell you much of anything about?

While I appreciate the lack of step-by-step hand holding, there are some things that need to be covered somewhere or new players are going to be totally lost. Especially me who hasn't ever played a retail MMO RPG before.

I am going to sit in a corner and scream for a full five minutes now.

You haven't heard anything yet: Try the prevailing theories on how to make money fast on the Trading Post. At least crafting as a system is static.

NalanoH. Wildmoon
Director of the Friends of Nalano PAC
Attorney at Lawl
"His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy." - Woody Allen

i agree. it's now more difficult to find someone willing to give you some few silver for rare weapons. crafting can still be interesting though if you're after the fun than actually worrying about the numbers.

Magic Find is a godsend for fine crafting materials. I've increased my chances by 5% and it has really made a difference (although totems are still hard to come by). The downside is the number of Warhammers and Tridents I keep picking up which are no use to me.

I must say that I've found my WoW method of equipping while levelling perfectly fine, basically I don't buy anything and just use what I find, craft or get given as rewards. I will admit that my jewelry is probably 40 levels old by now, but I haven't noticed killing stuff getting any harder and I've got a wodge of cash in the bank. I seem to level so quickly without really trying that it seems a waste to try and get the best at any particular level, I've not even really bothered with using gems and round thingies to improve my gear.